Germany’s indoor tropical island getaway

Offering an exotic escape to tourists seeking warmer weather during winter’s frigid months, the Tropical Islands resort in Krausnick, Germany is quite the site to behold. Opened to the public in 2004, the former Soviet military air base is now a tropical, indoor getaway filled with colorful flora and fauna, a beach, lagoon, water park and more.
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As the evening approaches, the lagoon illuminates for guests seeking a night swim on Feb. 15.
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Visitors can catch a bird’s-eye view of the resort before sliding down its towering water slide.
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Visitors brave the cold as they arrive at the giant hangar that houses the Tropical Islands indoor resort.
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Surrounded by sandstone and palm trees, the scenic Bali lagoon is a popular attraction among visitors.
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A young boy rides in the basket of a balloon as he peers down at the resort’s restaurants.
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The Tropical Islands resort’s enormous dome covers an area equivalent to the size of eight football fields.
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A couple from the city of Chemnitz lounge on the “South Sea” beach with their son.
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The Tropino Club for Kids is an indoor paradise for adventure-seeking youths, featuring treasure hunts, mini cars, power paddling and more.
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The resort’s flora covers almost 2½ acres of land and is filled with over 600 different types of plants, making it the largest indoor rainforest in the world.
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Flamingos are just one of the many different type of animal species that inhabit the Tropical Islands resort.
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Before being transfomed into a water park and resort, the hangar originally housed airships designed to haul long-distance cargo.
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A hot air balloon passes by in the distance as vistors lounge on the beach.
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Visitors wait in line as they prepare to ride down a waterslide in innertubes.
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The hangar that houses the resort is large enough to enclose the Statue of Liberty standing upright and the Eiffel Tower lying on its side.
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Overnight guests can stay in tents that line the resort’s sandy beach.
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A waitress clears tables at the Thai House, one of the resort’s numerous restaurants.
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A visitor gets a closer look at a display of tropical insects and spiders.
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A worker walks among tanks that filter water for the resort’s numerous swimming areas.
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Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images

Famished guests wait in line for refreshments at a bodega at the "South Sea" beach.
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